Wheel and a wheel disc

ABSTRACT

A wheel, particularly for use on automotive vehicles, is formed by associating a substantially cylindrical wheel rim and a substantially circular wheel disc to each other. The wheel disc includes at least one through bore having at least one projection that cooperates with the wheel rim.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to PCT Application PCT/BR2003/000127filed on Sep. 5, 2003, which claims priority to Brazilian PatentApplication PI0203723.8 filed on Sep. 12, 2002.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

The present invention relates generally to a wheel, particularly for useon vehicles, which is made from a stamped material and has an estheticquality similar to that of wheels that are made from light-metal alloysby casting, as well as a disc for use on the wheel.

Wheels designed for use on vehicles, particularly automotive vehicles,may be classified into two main categories according to theirmanufacture process: wheels made from a stamped material and wheels madefrom light-metal alloys by casting.

Although the wheels made from a stamped material are easy to manufactureand have a low cost per unit, they have the drawback of not presentingan attractive design. There use is limited to low-cost vehicles orcommercial utility/commercial vehicles, for which the esthetic factor isnot of great importance. The wheels made from light metal are moreflexible with regard to manufacture and variation in design. They arealso esthetically more attractive. However, they are expensive, andtheir price is usually prohibitive for some segments of the automotivemarket.

The wheels made from a stamped material (usually carbon steel) from theprior art include a substantially cylindrical or truncated-cone-shapedrim and a substantially circular wheel disc ridigly associated to eachother, usually by welding. However, screws, rivets, etc. can also beused. The stamped wheels may be subdivided into two types according totheir constructive form.

A first type of stamped wheel is formed by a rim having two opposed endregions, or flanges, which define a region where a diameter of the wheelis maximum. The flanges are protuberant, have a substantially curved“┐”-shaped or “J”-shaped profile, and define a groove for fixing a tire.These wheels are called conventional stamped wheels.

A second type of stamped wheel includes a rim having only one wheelflange, and the other flange is an integral part of the wheel disc.Again, the disc flange and the rim flange define a region where thewheel diameter is maximum. Thus, the flange of the disc defines themaximum wheel diameter. These wheels are known as integrated wheels andhave the advantage of providing a more attractive and elaborate designs,while keeping the manufacturing cost low.

However, there are some problems associated with the integrated wheels.For example, there is a greater difficulty in achieving symmetry andalignment of the wheel. The design is still inferior to the design ofthe wheels made from light-metal alloys. There is also a need forgreater accuracy in the manufacture, and the price per unit is greater.

Document EP A 0768191 (Porsche A G) discloses a wheel for a motorvehicle including a rim spider with air openings and a rim wheelconnected with the rim spider. The wheel includes at least two shellparts (the rim spider and the wheel) that are assembled to form thewheel. Each of the components includes an inner wall and an outer wall.The rim spider and the wheel are connected in the area of air opening,with one forming hollow spokes.

This wheel was developed to be used on high performance vehicles, suchare sport cars, and the manufacturing cost is very high. The advantagesof this wheel are, mainly, reduced weight due to the existence of thehollow spokes, the aggressive appearance, and the cooling efficiency ofthe brake system of the vehicle equipp

U.S. Pat. No. 6,234,581 (Porsche A G) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,351(Porsche A G) relate to a wheel and to a process for manufacturing awheel for a motor vehicle that is very similar to the wheel disclosed inEP A 0768191. Hence, they relate to a wheel to be used on highperformance vehicles with a very high manufacturing cost.

OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the present invention is to provide a stamped wheel,particularly for use on automotive vehicles, which is as estheticallyattractive to a consumer as a wheel made from light-metal alloys, thatis more flexible with regard to the design options than integratedwheels, and that has the same low manufacture cost of the stampedwheels. The process of welding a wheel disc to a wheel rim may becarried out with existing manufacture equipment, demanding little or noinvestment in purchasing new equipment for the production line.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a wheel discfor use on the above-described wheel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The objectives of the present invention are achieved by a wheel,particularly for use on automotive vehicles, formed by associating asubstantially cylindrical wheel rim and a substantially circular wheeldisc to each other. The wheel rim includes at least one flange, and thewheel disc includes at least one through bore having at least oneprojection which cooperates with the wheel rim and a substantiallyannular end region that defines a first contact surface. The firstcontact surface of the wheel disc cooperates with the wheel rim at anend of the flange.

The main advantages of the present invention, among other equallyrelevant advantages, are the possibility of making feasible a stampedwheel having the benefits of the conventional and integrated stampedwheels (such as the ease of obtaining symmetric and aligned wheels, lowmanufacture cost per unit, more attractive and more elaborateesthetics). The present invention also presents a wider variety ofdesign options than the integrated wheels and have an appearanceequivalent to the appearance of a wheel cast from light-metal alloys.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a first constructive variation of awheel of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a perspective back view of the wheel illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a second constructive variation ofthe wheel of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows is a perspective back view of the wheel illustrated in FIG.3;

FIG. 5 shows a schematic cross-section view of the wheels illustrated inFIG. 1-4;

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of a wheel disc of the wheel of thepresent invention;

FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of a third constructive variation of thewheel of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 shows a schematic cross-section view of the wheel illustrated inFIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

According to a preferred embodiment and as shown in FIG. 1, a wheel 1 ofthe present invention includes a wheel rim 2 associated to a wheel disc3.

The substantially cylindrical wheel rim 2 is preferably made from carbonsteel and has at least two end regions 4, or flanges 4, which constitutethe regions where a wheel diameter is maximum. The flanges 4 have a freeend 5 projecting substantially perpendicular from the wheel rim 2 thatdefines a substantially “┐”-shaped or “J”-shaped profile. The flanges 4define a substantially U-shaped intermediate region 7 that configures achannel for fixing a tire (not shown).

Preferably, a bore 8 is provided for placing a valve to control theinflation of the tire between one of the flanges 4 of the wheel rim 2and the intermediate region 7, although the bore 8 may also bepositioned at any other location in the wheel rim 2 wall.

The wheel disc 3 is substantially circular in shape and is preferablystamped from carbon steel. The wheel disc 3 includes a first centralregion 31, a second intermediate region 32 and a third external region33, as shown in FIG. 5.

The first central region 31 is substantially circular and preferablyincludes a central bore 14 in which a tip of the vehicle axle isaccommodated and at least two adjacent bores 12 to fix the wheel 1 to awheel hub of the vehicle (not shown). Preferably, the wheel 1 is fixedto the wheel hub by screwing.

The second intermediate region 32 is substantially annular and projectsfrom and is concentric with the first central region 31. The secondintermediate region 32 includes at least one through bore in the form ofa brake-ventilation window 16. Usually, the ventilation windows 16 bothventilate the brakes and improve the esthetic quality of the wheel 1. Inthe present invention, the ventilation windows 16 have a new additionalfunction that will be explained later.

The third external region 33 projects from the second intermediateregion 32 and is annular in shape and concentric with the first centralregion 31 and the second intermediate region 32 of the wheel disc 3. Thethird external region 33 defines the end of the wheel disc 3, at whichthere is a first contact surface 20. The wheel disc 3 is manufactured insuch that the first contact surface 20 cooperates with the wheel rim 2and almost touches or slightly touches the wheel rim 2. This providesthe impression that the wheel 1 is a single piece, like the integratedwheels and the wheels made from light-metal alloys.

Preferably, but not compulsorily, the third external region 33 includesa tear 9 which overlaps the bore 8 of the wheel rim 2, allowing atire-inflation valve (not shown) to pass.

In the preferred embodiment, the ventilation windows 16 aresubstantially trapezoidal in shape. The ventilation windows 16 includetwo walls 34 arranged radially with respect to the center of the wheeldisc 3. The ventilations windows 16 also include a first wall 35 that issemi-circular and substantially perpendicular to a radius of the wheeldisc 3 and located substantially near the first central region 31. Theventilations windows 16 also includes a second wall 36 that issemi-circular and also substantially perpendicular to the radius of thewheel disc 3 and located substantially near the third external region33.

The second concentric wall 36 includes a projection 37 that faces theinternal surface of the wheel disc 3, that is, that faces the wheel hubof the vehicle. The projection 37 defines a second contact surface 21between the wheel disc 3 and the wheel rim 2. The second contact surface21 is only present in the ventilation windows 16. Preferably, theprojections 37 are substantially in form of an annular segment, but theymay have other shapes as long as they are functional.

Evidently, the ventilation windows 16 may have shapes other than thetrapezoidal shape described. For example, the ventilation windows 16 canbe circular, triangular, hexagonal, etc. However, at least the secondwall 36 (or a part of it) that is located in the third external region33 of the wheel disc 3 has to provide a recess that faces the wheel huband defines the second contact surface 21 with the wheel rim 2, exactlyas described in the preceding paragraph.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, when the wheel rim 2 and the wheel disc 3 areassociated, the first contact surface 20 virtually or slightly touchesthe wheel rim 2 at a point substantially near the flange 4 or,alternatively, at the free end of the flange 4. The second contactsurface 21 cooperates with the wheel rim 2, touching it at a pointsubstantially located in the intermediate region 7 of the wheel rim 2. Asmall cavity 23 is formed between these two contact surfaces 20 and 21,the walls of which are defined by the wheel rim 2 and the wheel disc 3.

In the first and second constructive embodiments of the wheel 1, thefixation of the wheel disc 3 to the wheel rim 2 (which is effected bywelding,) occurs only on the second contact surface 21, as shown inFIGS. 2, 4 and 5. Because fixing welding 40 is performed in a backportion of the wheel disc 3 (facing the wheel hub) and because of theconfiguration of a front surface of the wheel disc 3, which virtuallytouches the flange 4, the wheel 1 has a more elaborate finishing thanthe stamped wheels from the prior art. This provides the impression thatthe wheel 1 is a single piece, that is, provides the impression that thewheel rim 2 and the wheel disc 3 are continuous.

A natural centering between the wheel disc 3 and the wheel rim 2 occursdue to the projections 37 of the second walls 36 of the ventilationwindows 16, which touch the wheel rim 2 in a homogeneous way, and due tothe first contact surface 20, defined by the third external region 33.Thus, there is no great difficulty in manufacturing a perfectly centeredwheel 1. This provides a great advantage over the integrated-typestamped wheels, the perfect centering of which is somewhat difficult toachieve.

In addition, generally, the larger the second concentric wall 36 of theventilation window 16 (and consequently the projection 37), the fewerthe number of ventilation windows 16 in the wheel disc 3. In this way,the second contact surface 21 will be larger and, as a result, the areaavailable for fixing the wheel rim 2 to the wheel disc 3 will be larger.This imparts more strength to the wheel 1, as can be seen from comparingFIGS. 2 and 4.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show a third constructive embodiment of the wheel 1 of thepresent invention, in which the first contact surface 20 touches the endof the flange 4 of the wheel rim 2. In this embodiment, in addition tothe fixing welding 40 on the second contact surface 21 described above,the first contact surface 20 is also fixed to the flange 4 by a fillingwelding 41. This is possible because of the constructive geometry of thewheel disc 3, allowing the first contact surface 20 to touch the end ofthe flange 4. Evidently, one may conceive any variations of the wheeldisc 3, as long as they will enable the first contact surface 20 or anadjacent region to touch the flange 4.

At least two additional steps in the manufacture of the wheel can beemployed. First, a step for welding the first contact surface 20 to theflange 4 of the wheel 1 can be employed. Next, a step for finishing thewelding, for instance, by machining, can be employed.

Unlike the fixing welding 40, the filling welding 41, which is part ofthe finishing steps, improves the appearance and the finish of the wheel1. This enhances the impression that the wheel 1 is made fromlight-metal alloys, increasing the strength of the wheel 1, even if in areduced way.

Moreover, the filling welding 41 can prevent moisture from entering thecavity 10, thus prolonging the useful life of the wheel 1 and preventingpossible corrosion problems.

Evidently, filling means 41 other than the welding can be employed. Forexample, glue, expanded foam, or any other material that has adhesiveproperties can be employed.

The foregoing description is only exemplary of the principles of theinvention. Many modifications and variations of the present inventionare possible in light of the above teachings. The preferred embodimentsof this invention have been disclosed, however, so that one of ordinaryskill in the art would recognize that certain modifications would comewithin the scope of this invention. It is, therefore, to be understoodthat within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may bepracticed otherwise than as specifically described. For that reason thefollowing claims should be studied to determine the true scope andcontent of this invention.

1. A wheel, particularly for use on automotive vehicles, comprising: asubstantially cylindrical wheel rim including at least one flange havingan end; and a substantially circular wheel disc including at least onethrough bore, at least one projection that cooperates with thesubstantially cylindrical wheel rim, and a substantially annular endregion that defines a first contact surface, wherein the first contactsurface of the substantially circular wheel disc cooperates with the endof the at least one flange of the substantially cylindrical wheel rim.2. The wheel according to claim 1, wherein the first contact surface ofthe substantially circular wheel disc is fixed to the at least oneflange of the substantially cylindrical wheel rim by a filling welding.3. The wheel according to claim 1, wherein the at least one projectionfaces an internal surface of the substantially circular wheel disc anddefines a second contact surface with the substantially cylindricalwheel rim.
 4. The wheel according to claim 1, wherein the at least oneprojection is substantially annular-segment shaped.
 5. The wheelaccording to claim 3, wherein the at least one projection issubstantially annular-segment shaped.